1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to golf clubs, and particularly to a dynamically balanced golf club putter with a modular design and a sliding hosel which allows for putter head positioning to ensure that the center of mass of a putter lies on an axis coincident with the axis of the shaft of the putter.
2. Description of Related Art
The game of golf has recently enjoyed a surge in popularity and is enjoyed by people both young and old. An important aspect of the game of golf is the art of putting. Putting involves striking the ball with a club having generally a perpendicular face causing the ball to roll relatively short distances, but with significantly more accuracy than other golf clubs. Just as there is a wide variety of putting techniques, so are there many differing opinions on what characteristics an optimum putter should have. Some putters have very heavy putting heads, whereas others are designed to be very light. Different materials have been used to give the putter a different feel, and putter heads and shafts vary in size, length and shape. While there is no "right" design for a putter, there is a consensus that a putter which is more balanced will usually give the best feel and yield the best accuracy. To balance a putter, the longitudinal axis of the putter shaft coincides or passes through the center of mass of the entire putter, i.e., shaft, hosel and putter head. A putter balanced in this manner, when suspended by the top of the shaft, will cause the shaft to hang directly vertical with respect to the ground because the shaft centerline passes through the center of mass, so there is no imbalance which would cause the shaft to deviate from vertical.
There have been attempts to achieve a balanced putter in the prior art, for example, the teachings of Morrison, U.S. Pat. No. 2,820,638. In Morrison, a center of gravity for the putter head has been determined and the axis of the putter shaft is positioned to pass through the center of gravity of the putter head. While this improves the overall balance of the putter, it does not provide complete balance since the hosel portion of the putter is neglected in the overall balancing. Thus, if one was suspend the putter from the top of the shaft, the shaft would make and angle with vertical which would be greater than zero. Another method to determine putter balance is to spin the putter about the axis of the shaft. An unbalanced putter would wobble due to the net moment attributable to the hosel element, whereas a balanced putter spins without wobble since the center of mass of the entire putter lies on the axis of rotation. Furthermore, as in other prior art putters with the objective of balancing the putter, there is no means for adjusting the position of the putter head and shaft to improve the balance should the putter become imbalanced.